You know, there are times when my brain is simply too tired or overwhelmed to produce many (if any) new ideas. There is many a day when 4pm rolls around and I realize I haven’t thought of what to make for dinner for my family of five. I open the fridge and freezer and stand there, staring, literally hoping for something to jump out at me so I don’t have to think up what to cook. My brain is so tired I can’t even remember the standard meals I cook, much less come up with anything creative, new and exciting to try. And then there are times, like now, that my brain is about to explode due to all the creativity coming out of it. I used to scratch down an idea on a piece of paper when it hit me.

Then I started keeping them in my business notebook as they came to me more frequently. Now I’m creating whole spreadsheets of ideas to keep track of them, and they just keep coming. Are you looking for something to write about for your blog, your newsletter, for an article, for a marketing piece, or for a special report, e-book or book? Could you use some help brainstorming ideas for a new product, program or service you could offer? Need a strategy for generating engaging topics for your podcasts, teleseminars, or workshops? I’m happy to share with you a few methods I use for kicking my imagination and creativity into high gear. Hopefully you can find a few that will work for you, and you’ll be well on your way to developing some fresh content for your business this Fall.

Ten Ways to Come Up With New Content:1. Focus on the part of your business you love. Just think about the parts that make you happiest. If you love talking, is there a new venue/forum that you haven’t tried yet? How could you teach others something about this thing you love?

2. Pick a partner and do some collaborating. You’re good at what you do; now go find somebody who complements your strengths and can help you develop your offerings in ways you couldn’t come up with on your own.

3. Check out your email inbox. Do you notice any frequently asked questions in there? Create a special report, an e-book, or a podcast that answers those questions and make it available to your customers and prospects. They’ll be grateful you did, and it won’t take you much creativity at all to answer these questions.

4. Create an add-on to something you already provide. Is your e-book/book selling well? Fantastic! Now create a workbook or study book that goes along with it so people can create their own path from the insights/lessons your book taught them. Doing teleseminars? Why not package your audio files with a questionnaire or worksheet and sell that as an information product?

5. How’s your existing product funnel? Take a good look at it and decide if/where there are any gaps. Do you offer products/services for free, low, medium and high-priced? Does one offering logically lead to the next, higher-priced one? Create items that fill in these gaps.

6. Have someone interview you (live or just recorded). Have them ask you who your target market is and what their top challenges are. Answer these questions, and let the creative juices flow. Often times being asked questions and having to answer them in real time helps your brain think in ways that sitting at your desk all by yourself just doesn’t.

7. Ask your team to review your web-site & offerings yearly. Aks your coach, mentor, board of advisors, supporters to review your website and all of your offerings. What would they like to see? Ask them to tell you what’s missing.

8. Keep a notebook handy. As ideas come to you, write them down. You will not remember them later. If you can’t get to your notebook, consider using the voice memo feature on your cellphone/smartphone, or even call your own answering machine and leave yourself a message with your bright idea. Do it IMMEDIATELY before you lose it! Great ideas seldom re-visit tired mompreneur brains.

9. Spend some time exploring. Surf the web, search on keywords that are relevant to you and your business, and see what your competitors or colleauges are doing. Can you emulate something you see? Is there a way you can make it your own, with your personality, brand and flavor?

10. Get out of your office. Go for a walk, a hike, a bikeride, anything outdoors and in Nature. If you’ve been stuck for a while without new ideas, a change of pace and setting might be just what you need. Spend time with friends and family and turn off the “business brain” for a while. A little R&R goes a long way towards giving your mind the flexibility to generate new, different, exciting things that will benefit you, your business, and your clients.

Great ideas! I also find headlines to inspire my opinionated side - depending on the headline of course.

Lately, I've read a few posts from other bloggers and then followed up with a post of my own exploring the topic a bit further, or adding my two cents, etc. Of course, starting with a link back to the original post that started my thought process. This is nice because that other blogger often appreciates the shout out and will help promote your article or at least leave a comment, so helps build a relationship.

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Where Have All The TimeOutMom Blog Posts Gone?

I tried to merge and import 3 different blogs into one and it was an #epicfailure. So, I will be manually moving over hundreds of blog posts as time goes on. I apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter because I know you want all that great info! ~Melissa